Coffee Log

COUNTRY: Rwanda VARIETY: Red Bourbon ALTITUDE: 1520 – 2100 MASL PROCESS: Washed ROAST: Light-medium

EXTRACTION SETTINGS

• Equipment: Gaggia Classic Pro E24, DF54 Grinder
• Grind setting: 8.7
• Dose in / yield out: 17.5g in / 37.6g out
• Extraction time: 28 seconds
• Other notes: 18g IMS precision basket, 1.0mm puck screen, fresh beans.

This was an espresso that stood out to me. Not only do I appreciate the roaster, Origin Coffee, sharing the parameters in which they dialled in the coffee with their equipment – Pathfinder really hit it’s objective to “showcase coffees from lesser-recognised producing countries, and create a ‘bright’ espresso profile.”

• What is a ‘bright’ espresso? – espresso with flavours akin to the tangy nature of citrus fruits (oranges or lemons) or the crispness of green apples or tart berries.

And bright it was; every sip of this coffee reminded me of the orange rind you taste amongst the jelly of orange marmalade. Paired with chocolate notes, I instantly thought of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange (a chocolate product with orange flavouring produced in 1932 at Terry’s Chocolate Works in York, England).

The thing is, when I settled on tasting orange rind, I was acknowledging that this coffee had a bitterness to it. What confused me more was that this bitter flavour wasn’t a bad thing. This made me challenge this almost foundational understanding of a ‘good coffee’ which is to say that bitter coffee = bad. However with Pathfinder, I learnt that not all bitterness is bad. I was thinking about that lesson every time I finished a cup.

Rating: 🤎🤎🤎🤎 ( 4 / 5 ) Balanced, clear, fresh and impressionable.

FLAVOUR PROFILE

– Flavour: Orange marmalade, nectarine, cocoa, orange rind – Acidity: Rounded, bright, lemon – Body: Medium, jammy – Finish: Short, camomile

A BIT ABOUT THE PRODUCERS

Rwanda has become a notable grower of speciality coffee with its tendency to produce bright, clean and complex cups – likely due to it’s high altitude and fertile volcanic soil. The older brother of Jean Bosco (the producer) took over the caring of the family farm and built a coffee washing station in the Nyamasheke district in Rwanda. This was alongside rebuilding their lives after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. On his return from serving in the army in 2000, Bosco joined the family business and established his own washing station under the guidance of his brother and Butembo CWS was born. Today, the station puts community empowerment and sustainability at it’s core by working closely with farmers to produce organic compost and provide them with essential tools to support their trade and livelihood. 🪴

More information can be found from the roaster, @OriginCoffee.

Until our next coffee,

– Anita, Your Grind Guide